Joe Biden, the current president of the United States, along with a high-ranking official from the justice department, has expressed approval of the apprehension of Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as “El Nini”, who is believed to be the leader of security and assassination operations for the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel, in Mexico.
The US government has accused the security chief of engaging in acts of murder and torture, such as feeding enemies to pet Bengal tigers. This individual also oversaw a security group called Los Ninis, which was notorious for their violent actions in support of the Chapitos. The group received training in various forms of combat, including urban warfare, special weapons and tactics, and sniper skills.
Biden expressed gratitude to Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as well as the Mexican army and special forces for successfully capturing Pérez Salas. He also commended the bravery of the Mexican security forces who carried out the operation to apprehend him.
Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, expressed gratitude to Mexican officials for apprehending a 34-year-old individual who had been providing protection for the three sons of convicted drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán: Iván Guzmán Salazar, Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, and Ovidio Guzmán López. Ovidio was captured after a fierce shootout and subsequently extradited to the US earlier this year.
According to reports, Pérez Salas was involved in instigating violent actions that resulted in the deaths of 30 individuals, including 10 members of the military.
The US government asserts that Los Chapitos, a group of individuals, are accountable for the widespread creation and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States. According to Garland, Pérez Salas and his security team have engaged in acts of murder, torture, and abduction against their opponents, witnesses, and those who opposed the Chapitos.
It is alleged that Pérez Salas was involved in the torture of a federal agent from Mexico in 2017.
As stated in a released legal document in April, the Ninis would transport their captured enemies to ranches belonging to the Chapitos where they would be killed. The indictment states that some of the victims were shot, while others were fed to tigers that were owned by the Chapitos as pets.
The Ninis have been charged with conducting experiments on individuals using fentanyl, resulting in fatal overdoses. The indictment states that the leaders of the Ninis, Pérez Salas and Jorge Figueroa Benitez, “experimented” on a woman they were meant to shoot by repeatedly injecting her with a less potent form of fentanyl until she passed away.
The accusation claims that 28 individuals associated with the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, including El Chapo’s three sons, were tasked with importing fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.
According to US prosecutors, the Chapitos have been responsible for smuggling Fentanyl and methamphetamine from Mexico into the US, resulting in numerous deaths. The Chapitos have denied these allegations and claim they are being unfairly targeted by authorities.
Both Biden and Garland expressed gratitude towards the Mexican president for the arrest of Pérez Sala. This comes after Biden reached a tentative agreement with China’s president, Xi Jinping, to limit the export of fentanyl precursors to Mexico. It highlights the importance placed on this issue in diplomatic relations.
The US government is currently trying to have Pérez Salas returned to face charges. He had a reward of $3 million for his arrest and was apprehended at a fortified residence in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state. Mike Vigil, a former leader of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s global operations, stated to the Associated Press that El Nini was “completely psychotic” and removing him from activity is beneficial for Mexico.
Source: theguardian.com
